Manufacturing line computer system and network setup method of the same

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is a manufacturing line computer system including: first and second computers. The first computer includes a storage section adapted to store a template that associates role information of the second computer and a network address of the second computer; and a reply section adapted to return the network address of the second computer associated with the role information to the second computer in response to reception of the role information from the second computer. The second computer includes an input section adapted to input the role information of the second computer; a transmission section adapted to send the input role information of the second computer to the first computer; and a network address setup section adapted to specify the network address, returned from the first computer, for the second computer.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/961,052, accorded a filing date of Apr. 24, 2018, allowed, which claims priority to JP Application No. 2017-093603, filed May 10, 2017, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to a manufacturing line computer system and a network setup method thereof, and more particularly, to setup of a computer system network arranged along manufacturing lines.

Recent years have seen a number of computers arranged along manufacturing lines in manufacturing plants that manufacture a variety of goods. Some of these computers are connected, for example, to manufacturing robots to control these robots, others are used to record production logs of goods, and still others are used to write necessary data to information apparatuses, manufactured goods. These computers are connected to a network for communication with other computers as occasion demand.

SUMMARY

At the time of erection of manufacturing lines and addition of new lines, it is necessary to arrange a number of computers along the manufacturing lines as described above and set up each computer for networking correctly so that data communication can be exchanged between the computers as intended. However, this task is often complicated and time-consuming.

The present disclosure has been devised in light of the foregoing, and it is desirable to provide a manufacturing line computer system and a network setup method thereof that allow for easy and reliable network setup of computers arranged along manufacturing lines.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a manufacturing line computer system that includes first and second computers. The first computer includes a storage section and a reply section. The storage section stores a template that associates role information of the second computer and a network address of the second computer. The reply section returns the network address of the second computer associated with the role information to the second computer in response to reception of the role information from the second computer. The second computer includes an input section, a transmission section, and a network address setup section. The input section inputs the role information of the second computer. The transmission section sends the input role information of the second computer to the first computer. The network address setup section specifies the network address returned from the first computer, for the second computer.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a network setup method of a manufacturing line computer system. The manufacturing line computer system includes first and second computers. The network setup method includes a step of inputting role information of the second computer to the second computer. The network setup method further includes a step of sending the input role information of the second computer from the second computer to the first computer. The network setup method still further includes a step of referring to a template that associates role information of the second computer and a network address of the second computer on the first computer and acquiring the network address of the second computer associated with the received role information. The network setup method still further includes a step of returning the acquired network address of the second computer to the second computer. The network setup method still further includes a step of specifying the network address, returned from the first computer, for the second computer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a manufacturing plant computer system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a template used to specify addresses for apparatuses of a manufacturing line computer system;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating another example of a template used to specify addresses for apparatuses of the manufacturing line computer system;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a network setup program executed on a line controller; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating processes of a network setup program executed on the plant apparatuses and processes of a support program executed on the line controller.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A detailed description will be given below of an embodiment of the present disclosure with reference to drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a manufacturing plant computer system 1 according to the present embodiment. The manufacturing plant computer system 1 depicted in FIG. 1 is installed in a manufacturing plant that manufactures information apparatuses such as game consoles and includes a site server 10. The site server 10 is a server computer that manages the manufacturing plant computer system 1 as a whole.

There are provided, for example, four manufacturing lines in this manufacturing plant. We assume here that an automated manufacturing line A1 and a manual manufacturing line B1 are in place as existing manufacturing line. We also assume that an automated manufacturing line A2 and a manual manufacturing line B2 will be newly added.

A manufacturing line computer system 30A-1 is in place for the existing automated manufacturing line A1, and a manufacturing line computer system 30B-1 is in place for the existing manual manufacturing line B1. Also, a manufacturing line computer system 30A-2 will be in place for the new automated manufacturing line A2 which will be added, and a manufacturing line computer system 30B-2 will be in place for the new manual manufacturing line B2 which will be added. Both of the automated manufacturing lines A1 and A2 manufacture goods of the same kind through the same processes (robot-based automated processes). Similarly, both of the manual manufacturing lines B1 and B2 manufacture goods of the same kind through the same processes (manual labor-oriented processes).

The manufacturing line computer system 30A-1 includes a line controller 32 (first computer), a server computer, and a number of plant apparatuses 36 (second computer) that are connected to the line controller 32 via a switching hub 34, thereby forming a manufacturing line network 35. The line controller 32 includes a NAT (Network Address Translation) function 32 a and a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server function 32 b. The line controller 32 is also connected to the site server 10 via a management network 20.

Each of the plant apparatuses 36 includes a computer. Among examples of computers incorporated in the plant apparatuses 36 are those connected to robot arms to control the robot arm, those connected to label printers to control the label printers, those for writing data to information apparatuses, manufactured goods, those for recording production logs, those for conducting various inspections, those for controlling conveyors for transporting manufactured goods, those connected to cameras to control the cameras, and those for analyzing camera images. Apparatuses adequate for the processes carried out in the automated manufacturing line A1 are employed as the plant apparatuses 36.

The switching hub 34 supports a subnet-based VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network). The subnet-based VLAN ensures that the plant apparatuses 36 that belong to the same subnet belong to the same VLAN. This permits data circulation only within the same VLAN. The manufacturing line network 35 may be constituted a single VLAN or a plurality of VLANs. Each of the plant apparatuses 36 belongs to at least one VLAN that is selected to suit the role thereof. As a result, the plant apparatuses 36 having the same role belong to the same VLAN, thereby allowing for efficient circulation of data in the manufacturing line network 35.

As described above, both the automated manufacturing lines A1 and A2 manufacture the same kind of goods through the same processes. Therefore, the manufacturing line computer system 30A-2 has the same apparatus configuration as the manufacturing line computer system 30A-1. On the other hand, the manual manufacturing line B-1 manufactures the same kind of goods through different processes. Therefore, the manufacturing line computer system 30B-1 has a different configuration from that of the manufacturing line computer system 30A-1. Specifically, the manufacturing line computer systems 30B-1 and 30A-1 are common in that they have the line controller 32 and the switching hub 34, but differ in at least either the number or type of plant apparatuses 36. It should be noted that because both of the manual manufacturing lines B-1 and B-2 manufacture the same kind of goods through the same processes as described above, the manufacturing line computer system 30B-2 has the same apparatus configuration as the manufacturing line computer system 30B-1.

The line controller 32 includes the NAT function 32 a as described above, and as a result, translation of IP (Internet Protocol) addresses takes place between each of the plant apparatuses 36 of the manufacturing line network 35 and the management network 20. In each of the manufacturing line networks 35, therefore, an arbitrary IP address can be specified for each of the plant apparatuses 36 and the line controller 32. Here, the same group of IP addresses are specified for the manufacturing line computer systems 30A-1 and 30A-2 by using a template which will be described later. Similarly, the same group of IP addresses are specified for the manufacturing line computer systems 30B-1 and 30B-2. Specifically, the same IP address is specified for the plant apparatuses 36 having the same role.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate examples of templates designed for address setup. The template depicted in FIG. 2 has been prepared for automated manufacturing lines and applied to the manufacturing line computer systems 30A-1 and 30A-2. The template depicted in FIG. 3 has been prepared for manual manufacturing lines and applied to the manufacturing line computer systems 30B-1 and 30B-2.

As depicted in FIG. 2, a table includes role information and network addresses. The role information indicates the role of each of the plant apparatuses 36 (computers) such as “PRODUCTION MANAGING PC 1” and “ROBOT ARM 2.” Although the role information is a descriptive word for ease of comprehension here, it may be one of a variety of symbols. A network address includes a host address and a subnet address. VLAN_1, VLAN_2, and VLAN_3 are available for the manufacturing line networks 35 of the automated manufacturing lines. Subnet address “10.1.1” is assigned to VLAN_1, subnet address “10.1.2” is assigned to VLAN_2, and subnet address “10.1.3” is assigned to VLAN_3. In the template, a circle indicates to which VLAN the plant apparatus 36 with each role belongs. For example, the plant apparatus 36 with a role of “PRODUCTION MANAGING PC 1” belongs to VLAN_1, and the subnet address thereof is “10.1.1.” Because the host address of the same plant apparatus 36 is “11,” the network address thereof is “10.1.1.11.” Also, the plant apparatus 36 with a role of “DATA WRITING PC 1” belongs to VLAN_1 and VLAN_2, and the subnet addresses thereof are “10.1.1” and “10.1.2.” Because the host address of the same plant apparatus 36 is “12”, the network addresses thereof are “10.1.1.12” and “10.1.2.12.” That is, two network addresses are assigned.

In contrast, the table depicted in FIG. 3 has been prepared for manual manufacturing lines and has, therefore, a small number of roles, i.e., plant apparatuses 36. Also, there is only one VLAN.

A description will be given here of building of a system according to the present embodiment by taking, as an example, tasks undertaken to build the manufacturing line computer system 30A-2 for the automated manufacturing line A2. The line controller 32 is connected to the management network 20, followed by the connection of the switching hub 34 to the line controller 32, to build the manufacturing line computer system 30A-2. Further, the plant apparatuses 36 necessary for the manufacturing line A-2 are arranged and, connected to the switching hub 34.

Next, a network setup program for line controller according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is started in the line controller 32. FIG. 4 is an operational flowchart of this network setup program. As depicted in FIG. 4, when the network setup program is started, the line controller accesses the site server 10 first and acquires a manufacturing line list (S101). The manufacturing line list is a list of manufacturing line types. Here, two types of manufacturing lines, namely, “AUTOMATED MANUFACTURING LINE” and “MANUAL MANUFACTURING LINE” are described in the list.

Next, the line controller 32 displays the manufacturing line list on a display and prompts the user to select a manufacturing line type with an input device such as mouse (S102). Thereafter, the line controller 32 sends the selected manufacturing line type (“AUTOMATED MANUFACTURING LINE” here) to the site server 10 (S103).

The site server 10 returns the template associated with the type received from the line controller 32 (template for automated manufacturing line depicted in FIG. 2 here), and the line controller 32 receives the template (S104). The received template is stored in a local storage device. It should be noted that the IP address indicated in the received template is specified in advance for the line controller 32 as its own IP address in the manufacturing line network 35. For example, according to the template depicted in FIG. 2, IP address “10.1.1.1” is specified for the line controller 32.

Thereafter, the line controller 32 starts a network setup support program. Also, each of the plant apparatuses 36 starts a plant apparatus network setup program according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is an operational flowchart of the network setup program executed on the plant apparatuses 36 and the support program executed on the line controller 32. It should be noted that the line controller 32 includes the DHCP function 32 b, that a temporary IP address is assigned to each of the plant apparatuses 36 in advance, and that the plant apparatuses 36 can communicate with the line controller 32.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, when the plant apparatus network setup program is started in the plant apparatus 36, the plant apparatus 36 acquires its MAC (Media Access Control) address (S201). Also, the plant apparatus 36 displays an input form on its display and prompts the user to input role information regarding the plant apparatus 36 by using physical keys, a touch panel, and so on (S202). Thereafter, the plant apparatus 36 sends the MAC address and role information to the line controller 32 (S203) from the plant apparatus 36.

Because of the support program, the line controller 32 acquires the IP address associated with the received role information (S204) from the template. Also, the line controller 32 changes the IP address, already stored in association with the received MAC address, into the IP address received in S204 (S205). Then, the line controller 32 sends a request to update the IP address to the plant apparatus 36 (S206). The plant apparatus 36 receives the changed IP address from the line controller 32 in response to this update request and changes its own IP address (S207).

The embodiment described above allows for identification of a template based on the manufacturing line type and specification of an IP address for the line controller 32 and the plant apparatuses 36 according to the specified template. This ensures simple and reliable specification of IP addresses. Moreover, when a plurality of manufacturing lines are of the same type, the same group of IP addresses are assigned to the line controller 32 and the plant apparatuses 36, thereby facilitating network maintenance tasks.

It should be noted that the support program of the line controller 32 may decide whether or not IP addresses have been assigned to the plant apparatuses 36 having all the roles described in the template and depict the decision result on an output device such as display. This makes it possible to reliably decide whether or not all the plant apparatuses 36 are in place at the manufacturing line A2 and have been set up for networking.

The present disclosure contains subject matter related to that disclosed in Japanese Priority Patent Application JP 2017-093603 filed in the Japan Patent Office on May 10, 2017, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occur depending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they are within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalent thereof. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A manufacturing line system, comprising: a server computer; a first computer in communications with the server computer over a management network; a switching hub that supports at least one virtual local area network for interconnecting the first computer with a manufacturing line network; and a second computer, controlling at least one robot-based manufacturing apparatus and communicating with the first computer via the manufacturing line network, wherein: the first computer operates to control the at least one robot-based manufacturing apparatus of the second computer by: (i) accessing a memory configured to store a template that associates data for the second computer, including a plurality of role categories for the at least one robot-based manufacturing apparatus, a plurality of elements of role information each belonging to at least one of the plurality of role categories, and network addresses; and (ii) sending the network addresses to the second computer in response to reception of the at least one element of role information from the second computer, the second computer operates to: (i) receive the at least one element of role information from the at least one robot-based manufacturing apparatus in response to user input; (ii) send the at least one element of role information to the first computer; and (iii) receive the network addresses sent from the first computer, and the plurality of role categories include at least one of: (i) data writing actions; (ii) assembly actions; (iii) inspection actions; and (iv) packaging actions.
 2. The manufacturing line system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of elements of role information are associated with a respective one of the network addresses, and each one of the network addresses includes a host address and at least one virtual local area network address.
 3. The manufacturing line system of claim 1, wherein the template of the memory is specific to a type of manufacturing line for the manufacturing line system.
 4. The manufacturing line system of claim 3, wherein the first computer sends information as to the type of a manufacturing line to the server computer, and in return the server computer sends the template associated with the type of a manufacturing line to the first computer to be employed in organizing the memory.
 5. The manufacturing line system of claim 4, wherein the first computer receives of a plurality of templates from the server, one such template associated with each type of a manufacturing line.
 6. The manufacturing line system of claim 1, wherein: a first manufacturing line comprises the first computer, the switching hub, at least one virtual local area network, manufacturing line network, the second computer, and the at least one robot-based manufacturing apparatus, and the manufacturing line system includes a plurality of manufacturing lines, each comprising a further first computer, a further switching hub, a further at least one virtual local area network, a further manufacturing line network, a further second computer, and a further at least one robot-based manufacturing apparatus. 